Vreni
Schneider, whose herniated disk had kept her from winning anything in
1992, wins medals in all three alpine skiing events, bringing her
total to five.

In speed skating, Norway's Johann Olav Koss wins
three gold medals, setting a world record in each event. Dan Jansen finally wins a race,
setting a world record in the 1,000m. And Bonnie Blair picks up two
more gold medals in the 500m and 1,000m.

Amy Van Dyken of the U.S. wins four gold medals in swimming, while
Ireland's Michelle Smith wins three golds and a bronze. Smith is
accused of using performance-enhancing drugs; this remains unproven,
but she is suspended in 1998 for tampering with a urine sample.

The American women's teams win the first-ever softball and women's
soccer events. They also win gymnastics, with the help of Kerri Strug, who nails her second vault
despite a sprained ankle.

The United States returns to the top
of the standings, followed by Russia and Germany.

10,651
athletes (4,069 of them women) from 199 nations participate; the only
nation excluded is Afghanistan.

North and South Korea enter the
stadium under one flag.

Australian Aboriginal Cathy Freeman
lights the cauldron at the start of the game, and goes on to win the
400m race.

British rower Steven Redgrave becomes the first
athlete to win gold medals in five consecutive Olympics.

The
U.S. softball team defends its title; Michael Johnson does the same in
the 400m race.

17-year-old Ian Thorpe of Australia wins four
medals (three gold) in swimming, breaking his own world record in the
400m freestyle.

American Marion Jones wins five track medals,
three of them gold.

Russian gymnast Alexei Nemov takes home six
medals, as he had done in Atlanta in 1996.

Eric "the Eel"
Moussambani of Equatorial Guinea is this year's lovable loser, taking
152.72 seconds in the 100m freestyle swim. This is more than twice as
long as Pieter van den Hoogenband's gold-winning performance.

There are 165 events for men, 135 for women, and 12 mixed events.
Women are excluded from boxing and baseball; men are excluded from
synchronized swimming, rhythmic gymnastics, and softball.

The
United States, the Russian Federation, and the People's Republic of
China lead the medal-winners.

These Games are controversial starting about three years before
they begin, as it is revealed that several IOC members accepted
inappropriately large gifts in exchange for voting to hold the Games
in Salt Lake City. At least four IOC members resign, as do top Salt
Lake City committee officials, in the midst of several investigations,
and the IOC pledges to change the way host cities are chosen.

Also controversial is the United States' decision to include, in
the Opening Ceremony, a flag that had been at Ground Zero in New York.
This is seen by some as contrary to the Olympic spirit.

These
Games are also dominated by doping scandals. Spain's Johann Muehlegg
and Russia's Larissa Lazutina and Olga Danilova are disqualified due
to darbepoetin use; the first two lose gold medals, although all
retain medals won before they were tested.

Britain's Alain
Baxter similarly loses his bronze slalom medal after a drug test,
although the drug detected turns out to be a Vicks inhaler. Unknown to
him, it has a different formulation in America than in the UK. A later
investigation clears him of all moral guilt, but his medal is not
returned.

Russian figure skating pair Elena Berezhnaya and
Anton Sikharulidze win the gold over Canadian pair Jamie Sale and
David Pelletier. The Canadians protest, the French judge admits to
having been pressured to give the Russians a higher ranking, and, in
an unprecedented ceremony, the Canadian pair is given gold medals,
although the Russians retain theirs.

American Sarah Hughes
gives the free-skating performance of a lifetime, nailing two
triple-triple combinations and vaulting from fourth-place dark horse
to gold medalist. This, too, has some measure of controversy, as a
slight change in the judges' placement would have put Russia's Irina
Slutkaya ahead, but that protest goes nowhere.

The
International Skating Union votes to radically overhaul the scoring
system for figure skating and ice dancing in future competitions.

The Canadian men's ice hockey team wins the gold medal, 50 years to
the day after the last time they'd done so. Their women's ice hockey
team also emerge victorious. In both cases, the Americans take the
silver.

Skeleton is an event for the first time since 1948; for
a change, John Heaton is not around to compete.

German
speed-skater Claudia Pechstein wins two gold medals, taking home a
medal in four straight Winter Games. Teammate Georg Hackl gets the
silver in luge, becoming the first athlete ever to win five medals in
one event. Norway's Ole Einar Bjørndalen wins all four men's
biathlon events.

For the first time since 1968, female athletes
are not tested for gender. There are 41 men's events, 34 women's
events, and 3 mixed events.

Germany, the United States, and
Norway end up with the most medals, with Norway taking home the most
golds.

Controversy continued around Marion Jones, the 2000 Olympic track star, when she announced her retirement from track and field after pleading guilty to Federal charges of using performance-enhancing drugs. Jones also confessed to making false statements during two government drug investigations. In November, the International Association of Athletics Federation decided that Jones must return all medals and money, including the $700,000 prize money, and forfeit all race results since September 1, 2000. Jones is officially suspended from competition until October 7, 2009.

Human rights activists and government officials propose
boycotting the 2008 Olympics in Beijing due to China's economic and
military connections to Sudan, where more than 200,000 people have
died and 2.5 million have been displaced by the civil
war.

Concern about Beijing hosting the summer Olympics
resurfaced in March 2008 after Chinese police violently cracked down
on protests by ethnic Tibetans and Buddhist monks in Lhasa,
Tibet.

Air pollution in
Beijing is at least two to three times higher than levels considered
safe by the World Health Organization. Medical research by the IOC
shows that air pollution will put athletes at risk and may inhibit
their performance.

In an attempt to clear air pollution for the Summer Games, Chinese officials called a halt to construction work and quarrying and enforced a 30% emissions reduction for power plants in and around Beijing, effective July 20.

Between March 26 and April 6, Chinese
officials arrested 35 members of a criminal ring based in Xinjiang for
plotting to kidnap Olympic athletes, journalists, and others. Police
found at least 22 pounds of explosives and 8 sticks of dynamite
during their raids.

On May 8, 2008, the Olympic torch was carried by climbers to the b.roof of the world,b. reaching the 29,035-foot summit of Mount Everest at 0920 local time. During the ascent, Tibetan women were the first and last to carry the torch.

On May 19, 2008, the Olympic torch relay was suspended during a three-day national mourning period in honor of those who suffered from the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that struck China on May 12, 2008.

On July 23, 2008, authorities announced that peaceful public demonstrations will be allowed in Ritan Park, Beijing World Park, and Purple Bamboo Park during the 2008 Summer Games. Citizens must be approved by the local public security bureau five days before their intended protest.

On Aug. 8, 2008, the 2008 Summer Games commenced in Beijing with music, dancing, and fireworks at the opening ceremony.

The 2008 Summer Games ended on Aug. 24 with the United States, China, and Russia taking home the most medals. Despite skepticism, the Beijing Games were widely praised as a success.

On Feb. 12, 2010, shortly before the Games began, Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died during a training run after his sled left the track and crashed into a pole. As a result of this tragedy, the start for the course was moved further down the track.

While the United States was the winner in the total medal count with 37, Canada's "Own the Podium" initiative proved successful, as Canada shattered its gold ceiling (in two previous Olympics, host Canada failed to win gold), winning 14 gold medals on home soil--a new record for a host country.

American Shaun White delighted snowboard fans with an unnecessary (he had already clinched the gold), but totally spectacular trick, the "Double McTwist 1260," which showcased not only the athlete's talent, but also the bold attitude that is advancing the sport.

In women's figure skating, Kim Yu-Na blew away the competition with grace and precision, and now proudly sports South Korea's first figure skating gold medal.
Canada's Joannie Rochette won not only a bronze medal, but also our hearts as she stepped onto the ice, her legs shaking, to compete only four days after the death of her best friend and mother, Therese.

Apolo Anton Ohno became the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete of all time, winning three medals, bringing his overall medal total to eight.

Some 80,000 people in Olympic Stadium and billions worldwide watched the Opening Ceremony as Britain celebrated its milestones and points of pride, from the Industrial Revolution to its National Health System to Harry Potter, in a high-tech ceremony called The Isles of Wonder directed by Oscar winner Danny Boyle. One of the most talked about events featured stunt doubles for James Bond actor Daniel Craig and Queen Elizabeth jumping from an airplane and parachuting into the stadium.

The 2012 Games were the first in which each of the 205 participating countries sends at least one woman athlete.

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July 31, 2012

Michael Phelps won his 19th Olympic medal, becoming the winningest Olympic athlete of all time. He surpassed the record held by Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina.

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August 2, 2012

Phelps won his 20th medal, a gold in the 200m individual medley.

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August 4, 2012

Phelps ended his Olympic swimming career with another gold medal. He amassed 22 medals in his Olympic career: 18 gold, two silver, and two bronze.

2013

In July and August 2013, Russia's new anti-gay bill sparked international protest and outrage. Athletes throughout the world threatened to boycott the 2014 Olympics in protest. The International Olympic Committee began probing Russia to see how the country would enforce the law during the Olympics. In an effort to do damage control over the controversy, the International Olympic Committee said by late July that it had "received assurances from the highest level of government in Russia that the legislation will not affect those attending or taking part in the Games."

On July 31, protesters gathered outside the Russian consulate in New York City and called for a boycott of the 2014 Olympics as well as sponsors of the Winter Games by dumping several cases of vodka. On August 10, hundreds gathered in London near the residence of Prime Minister David Cameron and demanded that the government pressure Russia into repealing the law.

On August 1, 2013, Vitaly L. Mutko, Russia's minister of sports, said to R-Sport, a state news agency, that gay athletes were welcome to attend the Winter Olympics in Sochi. However, Mutko pointed out that all athletes participating in the games would be expected to obey the new law and that no athlete or attendee could promote any nontraditional sexual orientation.

On Sunday, December 29, 2013, at least sixteen people were killed in a suicide bombing at a railroad station in Volgograd, a city in southern Russia. Nearly three dozen others were wounded. The following day another suicide bombing took place on a trolley bus in the same city. At least ten people were killed and ten others were wounded.

Both explosions came just six weeks before the Winter Olympics were being held in Sochi, 400 miles away from Volgograd. Never has a host country experienced this level of violent terrorism so close to the Olympic Games. During the Olympics, the government has planned for more than 40,000 law enforcement officials to be on hand at the event.